Coat retainer



Nov. 1, 1966 E. J. GOUSH ET AL 3,282,480

COAT RETAINER Filed May 26, 1965 D '52 z INVENTORS; 4 Edward J. Goush L Car/ 0. Jones BY v WgW W ATTORNE United States Patent 3,282,480 COAT RETAINER Edward J. Goush and Carl 0. Jones, Kansas City, Mo.,

assignors to Midwest Hanger Co., Liberty, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed May 26, 1965, Ser. No. 459,031 2 Claims. (Cl. 223-71) This invention relates to improvements in forms composed of cardboard or the like which are utilized as retainers to maintain coat lapels in place after dry cleaning during delivery to a customer or subsequent storage.

In recent years, coat retainers have come into widespread use in the dry cleaning industry as a means of maintaining the lapels of a coat, particularly the coat of a mans suit, in proper place subsequent to cleaning and pressing of the garment. In this manner, the suit is delivered to the customer without danger of the lapels and the front panels of the coat becoming out of press during handling or delivery of the garment.

Prior art coat retainers, however, possess a number of disadvantages. First, a tab is commonly employed at one end of the retainer which, during use thereof, is inserted into the buttonhole on one of the panels of a coat. Frequently, the tab must be forced into the buttonhole when the retainer is inserted into the coat and then severed by manual tearing during removal of the retainer by the customer. Secondly, such retainers commonly utilize a slit or similar contrivance to grip the button thread on the adjacent panel of the coat. Manifestly, this binds the thread and may cause excessive pulling thereof Which ultimately would effect loosening of the button.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide a coat retainer which does not possess the disadvantages discussed above.

It is another object of this invention to provide a coat retainer of elongated configuration which may be easily and readily inserted into the buttonhole of a coat by a simple longitudinal movement of the retainer body.

Still another object of the instant invention is to provide such a retainer having means for positively attaching the retainer to the button-carrying panel of the coat, yet without binding the button thread.

Other objects will become apparent as the detailed description proceeds.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the retainer of the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the retainer; and

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating the retainer in its operative position on a mans suit-coat.

The numeral broadly designates the form retainer of the instant invention which, as illustrated, is of relatively thin, fiat, elongated, planar configuration and may be composed of a relatively rigid cardboard or plastic material. The basic components of retainer 10 comprise an elongated retainer member 12 and a button hole fastener 14 integral with member 12 at an end portion 16 thereof of reduced width.

A pair of elongated slots 18 are located in the central portion of member 12, the latter having a normally lower, longitudinal edge 20 provided with a pair of V-shaped openings or notches 22 communicating with respective slots. It may be noted that a narrow passage 24 is formed at the apex of each notch 22, such passage intersecting the corresponding slot midway between the ends of the latter.

End portion 16 of member 12 presents a side margin 26 which is longitudinally aligned with slots 18. Fastener 14 merges with portion 16 at margin 26 via an interconnecting web 28 defining opposed grooves 29 with fastener 14 ice and portion 16. It will be observed that fastener 14 is of an approximate semi-circular configuration, the peripheral edge thereof including a convex stretch 30 and a pair of aligned, substantially rectilinear stretches 32 and 33. The left-hand extremities of stretches 30 and 32 merge at a tip 34 to form an elongated, tapered guide 36. It may be noted that tip 34 is located beyond the left-hand terminal edge 38 of member 12. Stretches 33 and the adjacent segment of stretch 30 merge to define the right-hand extremity of fastener 14 which forms a keeper 40 opposing guide 36, keeper 40 being shorter in length than the guide.

FIGURE 3 shows a coat 42 in phantom lines having a pair of front panels 44 and 46. The lapels are shown at 48. Panel 46 is provided with buttonholes 50, while the underlying panel 44 has buttons secured thereto by thread 54 in the conventional manner.

In use, guide 36 is inserted through the upper buttonhole 50 from the underside of panel 46 by a longitudinal movement of member 12, whereupon a slight rotative or vertical twisting motion of the member then inserts keeper 40 through the buttonhole, thereby leaving the latter in surrounding relationship to web 28. It may be noted that web 28 is relatively narrow, the dimension of the web longitudinally of member 12 being substantially less than the length of the convex portion 30 of the peripheral edge of fastener 14. Thus, guide 36 permits ready insertion of the fastener through the button hole, while keeper 40 assures that the fastener will not be inadvertently withdrawn.

Once the retainer is in the horizontal position illustrated in FIG. 3, an appropriate opening 22 (depending on the size of the coat) may be aligned with the upper button 52 on panel 44 and member 12 slipped behind the button between the latter and the coat material. The converging sides of the opening guide the retainer into the position illustrated, passage 24 being relatively narrow but of sufficient width to clear the button thread and permit the latter to enter slot 18. The natural tendency of the overlapped coat panels to pull apart or re-- turn to their normal hanging positions then maintains the button thread within the confines of slot 18 since the latter is elongated in the direction of the longitudinal axis of member 12. Therefore, the button thread will come to rest against the left end of the slot and will not tend to withdraw therefrom through passage 24. It should be appreciated, however, that slot 18 is of sufiicient size to prevent binding or gripping of the thread by the internal edges of the member defining slot 18. I

To remove the retainer from the coat, member 12 is grasped and raised upwardly while guiding the button thread into alignment with passage 24. Once the member is free from the thread, panel 46 is held below the upper buttonhole 50 while the other hand shifts member 12 leftwardly as far as the buttonhole will permit and rotates the member to slip keeper 40 through the buttonhole and withdraw guide 36. Thus, the retainer is readily removed Without severing fastener 14.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. For use with a coat provided with a first panel having a button held thereon by thread and a second panel having a buttonhole therein for receiving said button during Wearing of the coat, a form retainer for holding said panels in overlapping relationship to one another during nonuse of the coat comprising:

an elongated retainer member having an elongated slot therein extending longitudinally of the member and spaced from an end portion thereof for receiving said thread,

said member being provided with a longitudinal edge having an opening therein communicating with said slot intermediate the ends thereof; and

e39 fastener means on said portion for insertion into said buttonhole, and including an. elongated guide element projecting longitudinally outwardly of the member, whereby to enable the fastener to be readily inf serted in the buttonhole by a longitudinal movement of the member,

said member including means restricting said opening at its junction with said slot to form a relatively narrow passage only of suflicient width to clear the thread during attachment of the member to and removal from the coat.

2. For use with a coat provided with a first panel having a button held thereon by thread and a second panel having a buttonhole therein for receiving said button during wearing of the coat, a form retainer for holding said panels in overlapping relationship toone another during nonuse of the coat comprising:

an elongated retainer member having a longitudinal edge and an elongated slot therein spaced from said edge and extending longitudinally of the member for receiving said thread,

said edge having a V-shaped notch the-rein communicating with said slot intermediate the ends thereof at the apex of the notch, said member having an end portion of reduced width spaced from said slot defining one end edge of the member and presenting a side margin in substantial longitudinal alignment with said slot; and i an elongated fastener secured to said margin for insertion into said buttonhole and extending longitudinally of said member,

convex stretch define a tapered guide as they converge at said outer extremity which enables the fastener to '1 be readily inserted in the buttonhole by a longitudinal movement of the member,

said convex stretch and the inner'longitudinal stretch, as they converge at said inner extremity, defining an inwardly projecting, tapered keeper element of substantially shorter length than said guide, whereby to hold the fastener in place yet permit easy withdrawal of the fastener from the buttonhole when desired.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,940,646 6/1960 Richa et al. 223-71 3,040,940 6/ 1962 Richardson 223-71 7 3,091,376 5/1963 Sherbondy 22371 3,143,260 8/1964 Sherbondy 223-71 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. FOR USE WITH A COAT PROVIDED WITH A FIRST PANEL HAVING A BUTTON HELD THEREON BY THREAD AND A SECOND PANEL HAVING A BUTTONHOLE THEREIN FOR RECEIVING SAID BUTTON DURING WEARING OF THE COAT, A FORM RETAINER FOR HOLDING SAID PANELS IN OVERLAPPING RELATIONSHIP TO ONE ANOTHER DURING NONUSE OF THE COAT COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED RETAINER MEMBER HAVING A ELONGATED SLOT THEREIN EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF THE MEMBER AND SPACED FROM AN END PORTION THEREOD FOR RECEIVING SAID THREAD, SAID MEMBER BEING PROVIDED WITH A LONGITUDINAL EDGE HAVING AN OPENING THEREIN COMMUNICATING WITH SAID SLOT INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS THEREOF; AND FASTENER MEANS ON SAID PORTION FOR INSERTION INTO SAID BUTTONHOLE, AND INCLUDING AN ELONGATED GUIDE ELEMENT PROJECTING LONGITUDINALLY OUTWARDLY OF THE MEMBER, WHEREBY TO ENABLE THE FASTENER TO BE READILY INSERTED IN THE BUTTONHOLE BY A LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF THE MEMBER, SAID MEMBER INCLUDING MEANS RESTRICTING SAID OPENING AT ITS JUNCTION WITH SAID SLOT TO FORM A RELATIVELY NARROW PASSAGE ONLY OF SUFFICIENT WIDTH TO CLEAR THE THREAD DURING ATTACHMENT OF THE MEMBER TO AND REMOVAL FROM THE COAT. 